Article inverting feeding bowls



8, 1953 w. v. SPURLlN 7 2,661,833

ARTICLE INVERTING FEEDING BOWLS Filed March 19, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Dec. 8, 1953 w. v. SPURLIN 2,661,

ARTICLE INVERTING FEEDING BOWLS Filed March 19, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZINVENTOR. V/'/// am 1/. sour/M air/aw His 41 *arneg.

Patented Dec. 8, 1953 outrun PATENT OFFICE ition U fDlvaware mncmmmamme, 195i, serinnofiarsses 3 Claims. ,1 I

invention relates generally -to=article teeding bawls and :more particularly to ,an -.article handlingdeyicexwherein thezartieles-are delivered in turn and :are sod in series in an oriented posifiion which :is other than :that in which the article is rconveyed.

In theprodudtionlor in thel-ass'embli-nglof parts it 'is treouently "desirable "to supply (a series :of articles, each in turn and oriented to a definite or :pnedeterminjed position owing to the actual shape zof the {article However, the article itself is xfrenuently not adapted for transmission in the manner in which it 1 15 desired to be fed :or removed imuse .in Ethe manufacture :or assembly such instances it :is preferable to set up an article feeding ibpwrl meuchamanner that the articles will be conveyed along a .hel-ical conveyor track in =.a manner which is .most suitable to refiiciently convey that particular-article. iiust before (the article is tQ be delivered dormse, it oriented :by the track to a position that lends {itself to the (ready adaptation of the article for 'ifnrther work thereon or the assembly :of the article into a machine.

mother object {of this invention ,is the ,provision of a :feeder bowl which is arranged to reoeiwe articles in 1a haphazard manner and conveythem-inturntoifiorm a series-of articles which are then amiented to ea different angular posi tionheflore being-delivered.

aflliher objects and ad-vanh'tges are disclosed the lfQHOW'mg specification and --claims.

illhezaoeompanyingadrawings show, for the purpose of exemplification without alimitingthe rinuention :or iclaims thereto, certain practical lembodiments of the inyentionwherein:

A :is :a .plan view :of a v:feeder Joow-l having a counterclockwise feeder track with inverter comprising this invention.

:Flig. 2 .is :a side elevation -.of the structure shown iniEigal.

Eds. 2-3 .33, sectional view-of the structure-taken alongitheilme 3-3 of Fig.1.

4 ,is :a ,plan view -.of a feeder rbowl having a aclockwisejfeeder track with an inverter .comprisin invention and :mounted on a reciprocartingfeedennrotor.

Eig. 5 is -,a sectional view taken along the-line 5z-fiizofli ige4,

26' isza sectional view taken along the line '8=.60f Fi A. V

Beferring to Figs. i to 3 of the drawings the feeder howl l provided with an annular base ringid iha'vinga iSelliESiDf threaded opening holes 3 mound fits perimeter :for the purpose gof fastening the base ring 2 to a feeder motor. Thebese ring 2 is provided with s depending j-flange 4 for the purpose -of -.recei-vin g the annular wall ,5 of the bowl which extends downwardly below the base ring --2 :and to the full extent of the [depending flange 4 :ior :the purpose of providing ample room to bolt the howl 5 to the ehase ring, 2 by means :of the bolts 5, Thus the howl 5 is :removably mounted on the base ring ,2 and different forms of feeder bowls, which have different feeder conveyor track-s, may be detach-ably tseoured to the base ring 2 without rtemoring the same fromthe feedenmotor.

The ieeder bowl :-5 is provided with re. bottom 1, which in instance, .is iconical in shape. The wall of the bowl is provided a helical conveyor path or track 8 which starts at as indicated vin .Fig. l, tanditranels upwardly along an inclined plane to the point It where aspecial trackrmember H whichtisiproyided with intuit-nod flanges 11-2, is fixed :to the end of "the inclined track 8 and extends through the opening his Lof the :bowl 5 and is ssupportedhy the three bracket members 14, and I16.

The track H with its .inturned flanges I2 is twisted about its axis intermediate :of its ends as it passes along lthesoutside of (the bowl 5 and becomes fu-llyrinvertedas .showznin Rigs. .-1 andZ. Thus theistemmed articlesconveyed on :this charactor of feeder would have a broad ;flange or .a flat head memberthat-could=-be supported .by the flanges -l2-. An article of, such shape may not provide a very good conveying surfscethat would ride upon the inclined track 8 and, if improper- 1y oriented, the ejector 1H would throw .-it back into the bowl, bnt [if ;properly ioriented, would pass the ejector clip 2111 and continue onthe incli-ned helical path :8 :untilgit entered under the inturned flanges [L2 adter which it proceeds outwardly land downwardly being turned soverhy :the track H until Jitlis completely upside down with the stem hangingudownwardly and it will bedischarged in this-manner rat I18. This particular conveyor track, of course, may not besui-table for other character of articles, nevertheless the track and the bowlLE may .be \changed .orreplaced in order to provide the proper type of conveying track and ejector for the particular article which is :desired to feed turn and in .an inverted position.

The inclined helical trackil-may be supported on its outerrim by the vertical wall :8 .for one complete revolution or for th-reenuarters of a revolution as; the case may-be. ;-As shown Fig 1 the wall -ll' extends for thre quarters-of a 3 revolution starting at the point 9 and ending at 270 therefrom a shown in Fig. l. The track 8 slopes downwardly immediately beyond the ejector H as shown in Fig. 3. This is to prevent jamming of the articles at the ejector since the slope causes the articles to feed away from the ejector faster than those approaching the ejector. The slope is initially gradual and later becomes more pronounced in the track ii, if found desirable. The slope of track H is dependent on the article to be conveyed.

The structure as shown in Figs. 4, and 6 is somewhat similar to that of Figs. 1 to 3. However, the path or conveyor track of the feeder bowl in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 moves the articles in a clockwise direction, whereas in the structure shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 moves the article in a counterclockwise direction. It is obvious from the direction of the movement of the articles that the feeder motors themselves must be built to support the bowls for vibration in opposite directions for the purpose of operating these feeder bowl in the manner for which they are intended.

As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 the feeder bowl 120 is mounted on the base ring 2! which is provided with the openings 22 for securing the same to a feeder motor and has the annular wall 23 extending therearound being secured to the perimetral edge of the base ring 2| as indicated at The annular wall 23 is provided with a conical bottom 25 which is likewise secured to the base ring 21 and this bowl is likewise provided with a helical conveyor track 26 which starts at 21, as indicated in Fig. 4, and has its inner marginal edge enclosed by the wall 28 which commences at the starting point 21 and extends completely around the bowl terminating at the point 21 as indicated at 29.

As the conveyor track 26 extends upwardly to the point 30 is passes through the opening 3! in the wall 23 and is provided with the exterior track member 32 which has inturned flanges as indicated at 33. These flanges do not start until after a portion of the extension track 32 has proceeded for some distance outside of the bowl. It will be noted that the track section 32 is supported by the bracket members 34, 35 and 36 and between the bracket members 35 and 36 the track section is twisted to an inverted position, as indicated at 31, and only for this extent the conveyor track need be provided with the inturned flanges 33.

The feeder motor means shown in Fig. 4 is an intermittent current impulse motor similar to that illustrated in United States Patent 2,464,216 and comprises a resiliently supported base 40 having a set of four blocks 4| mounted thereon in symmetrical relation with respect to the vertical central axis of the bowl. Each block has an upwardly sloping spring member having fastened to its upper end the blocks 43 attached to a common frame on which the bowl is mounted. An electromagnetic motor 44 is indicated in dotted lines under the bowl and is axially centered therewith. The motor comprises an armature member 45 secured to the under side of the frame and in operative spaced relation to the core 46 on which is mounted the electromagnetic field 41. This core has three pole faces 88, 49, and 50 that form the air gap with the armature 45. The attraction of the armature by the electromagnetic field causes the sloping springs to flex and the bowl follows an inclined arcuate path of movement. As soon as the current impulse 4 subsides, the springs lift the bowl back to its original position, and thus causes the material to be conveyed upwardly along the track 26.

The bowl, as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, has a conveyor track that i designed to handle an article somewhat similar to the article as handled by the bowl shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in that the article has some sort of a hand or flange member that provides an excellent conveying surface and also serves to support the article when it is inverted.

In each instance it will be noted that the section of the conveyor track that i designed to invert the article is traveling downhill. It was found in the use of some articles, it is preferable to permit this portion of the track to slope downwardly rather than to continue the upward inclined plane of the helical path. One reason for this could be that in orienting the article, it is necessary to provide the flanges for supporting the same, and these flanges reduce the reaction surfaces for conveying the article and also the center of gravity of the article is changed relative to the conveying surface and it is thus necessary to aid the movement of the article along the track by causing it to slope downwardly. This is an important feature of this invention.

While, for clarity of explanation, certain embodiments of this invention have been shown and described it is to be understood that this invention is capable of many modifications and changes in the construction and arrangement of the many parts as described and that certain parts may be employed with the conjoint use of other parts and without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. An article handling feeder bowl for delivering in turn each of a series of articles in a position other than that in which it i initially conveyed from the bottom of the bowl which comprises, feeder motor means for effecting reciprocation in an inclined arcuate path of movement, a bowl adapted to be secured to said feeder motor and having a bottom with an upstanding annular wall, a conveyor floor extending from the bottom of the bowl upwardly around the annular wall for feeding articles therealong when said feeder motor is energized, a discharge conveyor section having a iloor portion and marginal flanges turned inwardly toward each other and having a twist therein, means to connect said discharge section directly to the upper end of the conveyor floor to continue the same along a conveying path, and means on said bowl to support said discharge section with the twist therein to position said inturned flanges to support the articles in a position other than upright a they are discharged.

2. An article handling feeder bowl for delivering in turn each of a series of articles in a position other than that in which it is initially conveyed from the bottom of the bowl which comprises, feeder motor means for effecting reciprocation in an inclined arcuate path of movement, a bowl adapted to be secured to said feeder motor and having a bottom with an upstanding annular wall, an inclined conveyor floor extending from the bottom of the bowl upwardly around the annular wall for feeding articles therealong when said feeder motor is energized, a discharge conveyor section mounted on said bowl and having a conveying surface connected directly to the upper end of the inclined conveyor floor to extend the same, said discharge section being twisted intermediate its ends to change the position of the articles conveyed therealong, and means on said discharge section to retain the articles to the end of the discharge section regardles of their angular position.

3. The structure of claim 2 characterized in that said discharge section slopes downwardly on the outside of said bowl.

WILLIAM V. SPURLIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 5 2,346,549 Belada Apr. 11, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 279,119 Great Britain Oct. 15, 1927 

